Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 10:30, 5 December 2007

This article was nominated for deletion on 18 March, 2006. The result of the discussion was keep.

Is this an accredited school?

Would anyone know anything about this? Piercetp 14:45, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Dear Mr. Guy Chapman,

We have not seen so far any changes in the supported modifications that we requested. The changes have occurred and do not support any longer the content currently posted. If the sources changed why does not Misplaced Pages accept the change?

1. Oregon Office of Education http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html deleted all reference to Oxford, diploma mills or any comments after a review of documents and explanations provided by BIU. We are still listed as an unaccredited institution because we are, and the only remark posted is an “F” which means foreign institution. If you verify the Oregon Office of Education http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html you will notice that not all references to Diploma Mills have been deleted. In fact there are many comments. Oregon reconsidered the classification of BIU as a diploma mill after a review of many documents and supporting info. Refer to Mr. Alan Contreras.

2. The source reference provided by Schholhouse (Allen Ezzel) has been deleted. It should be also deleted as well from BIU definition at Misplaced Pages http://southflorida.metromix.com/archives/101503coverstory.html

3. The inclusion of other references such the BIU CEUs Authorized Provider status granted by IACET is a reference that is not subject to interpretation. This is a fact and a review process has been passed to achieve such status. BIU is an authorized provider of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) http://en.wikipedia.org/Continuing_education_unit according to the International Association of Continuing Education & Training (Washington DC, USA) http://www.iacet.org/about/providers.asp. Going through the IACET provider status does not authorize to grant degrees, but this status at least proves some academic quality and a that a through site visit and inspection ocurred from a traditional point of view. This is an important fact.

4. BIU is also member of the IARC - International Accreditation & Recognition Council (Australia) http://www.iarcedu.com/directory.aspx and ANCED - Asociación Nacional de Centros de Enseñanza a Distancia (Spain) http://www.anced.es/centros.asp We request that these references are added to the definition.

5- The clarification of the legitimacy status of BIU degrees and academic programs which is permanently misunderstood by the English Community should be better explained if reliable references are provided. This concepts and the documentas have been verified to you directly by the director of the US-Spain Chamber of Commerce. The references are not subject to any interpretation as well. They come from official administration sources in Spain. The nature of BIU must be clearly explained in both the way that you interpret it as a traditional educational activist but also in the way it is considered from the legal point of view in Spain and the European Union. Refer to the following links and documents.

BIU is a provider of non-formal education and as such no further authorization from a Ministry of Education is required. BIU activity is authorized by its registration under secion 932.2 http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Fiscal/rdleg1175-1990.t1.html#c9 (Spain Non Formal Higher Education). The Spain Ministry of Consumer Affairs monitors BIU activity (Decreto 84/2004 de 13 de Mayo (Enseñanza General)) http://gestiona.madrid.org/wleg/servlet/Servidor?opcion=VerHtml&nmnorma=2558&cdestado=P

It is also important to pinpoint that there is an active monitoring from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. This is not just a BBB pay for seal. It is a compromise signed with the Spain National Institute of Consumer Affairs that provides important guarantees to the consumer. This is somehow what you are trying to do with the tone of the article about BIU and the way the “facts” are exposed.

During the year 2005, the Spain National Institute of Consumer Affairs (Instituto Nacional de Consumo - INC) from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs awarded BIU with the official distinction of consumer protection http://consumo-inc.es/arbitraje/interior/adhesion/adhesion.htm This seal provides a solid international consumer protection and a unique guarantee to all BIU students in Spain, Europe and worldwide. http://www.bircham.edu/INC.pdf

I want to defend our right to get the proposed changes included in the definition of BIU. Such changes are not the result of any interpretation but the consequence of effective modifications and facts that affect the current content of the article and that may provide more precise definition of our controversial institution. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bircham (talk • contribs) 10:29, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Tagging {{unbalanced}}

I have tagged this article as unbalanced; it seems to focus very heavily on the accreditation status of its subject, whilst hardly touching on anything else. There was a Help Desk complaint about this article, which may contain useful sources to help balance the article (but due to its length and style it's hard to pick out anything in particular that might help) --ais523 19:01, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

I removed the unbalanced tag. A while after I sourced the article with various WP:RS there hasn't been any solid sources to argue against those government sources that say this place is not operating legally. Arbustoo 18:07, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Help desk complaint

I am enclosing the Help Desk Complaint AIS mentions above. Particularly given conflict of interest concerns, I think it's important that we take a careful look at Bircham's arguments and try to address them in an neutral manner. From a quick read of the complaint, Bircham's CEO appears to be arguing:

1. That while it is absolutely true that Bircham is "unaccredited," it is not a degree mill. (Or, to present it differently, that Bircham denies that it is a degree mill and has successfully convinced various reporters, such as Oregon, to remove it from the "degree mill" list and move it to the "unaccredited" list);
2. That under Spanish law, unaccredited schools and "non official degrees" are accepted without the stigma applied to those schools in the West.

I don't know how valid those objections are at this time, but someone should certainly take a look at them. I will ask Mr. Miller for additional sources that meet WP:ATT, but in the meantime, if someone could make an effort to address Bircham's concerns as neutrally and fairly as possible, they'd be a superstar. TheronJ 19:47, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

I looked into and cited everything properly. Arbustoo 08:20, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Message follows:

Dear Misplaced Pages,

We have recently found your definition about Bircham International University. http://en.wikipedia.org/Bircham_International_University The definition currently posted is inaccurate, incomplete and misleading. I suggest that this definition is updated with a most accurate and precise content. First I will propose the definition and then I will provide the references and proofs in order to support the inaccurate leads detected. I thank you in advance for your time and I hope that you reconsider that this incorrect definition is quite damaging for our institution and it does not honor the commitment to accuracy and truth from an Encyclopedia

CORRECT DEFINITION ABOUT BIU:

Bircham International University is an independent institution of higher education that offers degree programs through distance learning for the adult professional student. BIU is a non accredited institution according to the USA accreditation standards (CHEA) and a provider of non formal higher education according to the Spanish Law. Its unaccredited degrees may not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and the use of its degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions, such as the States of Oregon, Maine or Texas.

INACCURATE DATA ARGUMENTS AND PROOFS

I also ask that any reference to Diploma Mill or Fraudulent school are taken away from the definition for the reasons, arguments and proofs provided below.

AACRAO AND SOME STATES CLASSIFICATION OF BIU

The Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization listed BIU as a degree mill in the past. BIU provided documentation and a review conducted by Alan Contreras from the Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization any negative definition of BIU was deleted. It is though listed correctly as not accredited school with no further comments, except an “F” which means Foreign institution. http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html

AACRAO http://www.aacrao.org/international/consulting.cfm conducted a simple review of BIU legal status that lead to the incorrect statement posted by the State of Maine and Texas. The Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization who required this evaluation from AACRAO did not post the statement “Bircham is not accredited and it not authorized by the Spanish government” because it was explained to them by BIU. After detecting the the Misplaced Pages definition, BIU has taken the actions to get the Maine and Texas sites corrected the same way the Oregon Office did. We do not know how long this will take. First we have presented the same documents and proofs provided in this email to AACRAO who is the institution used by different States organism to verify foreign institutions. I understand that posing an inaccurate question or addressing the incorrect department in Spain may have lead AACRAO to this conclusion. Allow me to clarify that there are two types of higher education in Spain:

1. Formal Education leading to officially recognized degrees is monitored by the corresponding departments of education that ensure that the programs curriculum meet the standards set forth by the Ministry of Education. Completion of such homologated programs leads to an official degree.

2. Non-Formal Education (Educación no reglada) leading to non officially recognized degrees is monitored by the corresponding departments of consumer affairs that ensure consumer protection and quality of instruction delivery. Non formal education programs do not follow the Ministry of Education programs curriculum standards. Non formal education provides much more freedom in the program curriculum. Degrees granted after completion of non formal programs leads to a non official degree.

Bircham International University is a provider of non formal education and as such no further authorization form the Ministry of Education is required. The Ministry and Departments of Consumer Affairs monitors that BIU programs clearly state the non formal nature of the programs offered and the quality of instruction delivered. In 2004 a law was specifically approved on this regard. Before this law there was a disperse collection of norms and directives that could have lead the person conducting the AACRAO evaluation to the inaccurate and false conclusions stated above.

The applicable law is Decreto 84/2004 de 13 de Mayo. Enseñanza General. Quoting the law. It applies to private institutions that offer non formal education leading to non official degrees (...“los centros privados que imparten enseñanzas no dirigidas a las obtención de un título con validez oficial”...) You may read this law directly from http://gestiona.madrid.org/wleg/servlet/Servidor?opcion=VerHtml&idnorma=3480&word=S&wordperfect=N&pdf=S You may also verify other related laws at: http://gestiona.madrid.org/wleg/index.htm

Then you should download the PDF Documents called BIU Legal Docs and BIU Recognition on the top part of this link http://www.bircham.edu/pdfdownload/ This should provide documentary proof that neither AACRAO nor the States of Maine or Texas ever looked at while the Oregon State did look at. http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html

The PDF called BIU Legal Docs provides copies of the following documents and much more:

- Copy of the Official Registrar of Companies authorizing the name Bircham International University College and the purpose of the company (objeto social): Higher education. - Copy of the Economic Activity License under paragraph 932.2 (Professional Education and Improvement) - Copy of the Office license for the activity Higher Professional Education - Copy of a certificate from the Spain National Distance Learning Association (ANCED) stating the european residents may legally work in Europe with a non official degree granted by BIU. - Copy of the Consumer Affairs Quality Seal granted by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs that guarantees that BIU meets the regulations set forth by the law Decreto 84/2004 de 13 de Mayo. Enseñanza General. mentioned above.

BEING NOT ACCREDITED IS NOT EQAL TO BEING A DIPLOMA MILL

BIU may be listed as a non accredited school but this is not equivalent to be defined as a fraudulent institution or diploma mill. Quoting Misplaced Pages definition of unaccredited institutions “According to the United States Department of Education, it is possible for postsecondary educational institutions and programs to elect not to seek accreditation but nevertheless provide a quality postsecondary education” http://en.wikipedia.org/School_accreditation

You are also welcome to visit BIU website at http://www.bircham.edu/ to gather for more information and find out if BIU meets the criteria to be classified as a diploma Mill. BIU is NOT a Diploma Mill. A diploma mill is an institution of higher education that grants degrees without ensuring that students are properly qualified. The following aspects will allow you to properly differentiate BIU from a Diploma Mill or any questionable school. http://en.wikipedia.org/Degree_mill

1. Legality: A diploma mill does not provide clear references about its legal status or authority to grant degrees. BIU does. Sometimes the school is based in countries that lack of any regulations in matter of education such as several Caribbean countries, some nations from Africa, or some States from the USA (Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Montana). A diploma mill often operates from another country through PO BOX addresses. Visit the About BIU section of BIU web for further explanations of BIU legal references. You may also download copies of BIU Legal Docs from the PDF Download area. http://www.bircham.edu/english/aboutbiu/

2. Contact offices: A diploma mill does not usually provide a physical or verifiable contact address or telephone. Any international structure is not real or just a group of commercial agents. There are no offices to visit or to call during office hours. BIU provides real addresses with real offices that may be visiet on working hours. Visit the BIU Offices to know worldwide contact details. http://www.bircham.edu/english/contactabiu.html

3. Admission & Fees. A diploma mill does not have a real admission process. Anybody is usually admitted into any degree program offered. Fees are negotiable and there is usually no criteria or regulations regarding any transfer of credits from previous education and professional experience. A diploma mill never offers a refund policy nor enforces any students rights or consumer protection. Visit the Admission section of BIU web to learn about our admission requirements, student rights and refund policy. http://www.bircham.edu/english/adm.html

4. Academic support. A diploma mill does not have a list of academics and staff. If there is a list, there will be no description of their educational qualifications. No detailed information about the content of the academic program is provided accurately or in detail. No learning methodology and teacher tutoring or counseling is available. There is never any academic feedback about any work submitted to the institution. Visit the Who We Are section of BIU web to know BIU Staff and academics. http://www.bircham.edu/english/graduados/ You may also download the Study Guide from the PDF Download area. http://www.bircham.edu/pdfdownload/

5. Recognition. A diploma mill does not provide clear information about recognition and accreditation. Any reference to third party accreditors is misleading, not sound and not verifiable. There is never a consumer protection guarantee such as the one that BIU provides. Visit the About BIU section of this web for further explanations of BIU recognition. http://www.bircham.edu/english/aboutbiu/ You may also download copies of BIU Recognition from the PDF Download area. http://www.bircham.edu/pdfdownload/

BIU is NOT a Diploma Mill. BIU web provides clear arguments against these issues. If you wish to verify further about any issue do not hesitate to ask or request additional documents.

CITYLINK ARTICLE “Bircham International University was referred to by a former DipScam federal agent as a degree mill.” http://www.citylinkmagazine.com/archives/101503coverstory.html

This article deals with several diploma mills and the whole business around it. It mentions BIU once through the opinion of one former BIU student. She was granted admission into BIU on 4/11/2003. She was assigned to do several reports on several textbooks that she never submitted. On 10/27/2003 she request to withdraw from the program. BIU sent the corresponding Refund Form according to the student rights and refund policy.She never submitted any academic work so she ca not provide an accurate opinion about BIU programs of study. The Citylink article then provides a comment about Deric Bircham without even bothering to verify if Deric Bircham credentials are good or not. Deric Bircham full and detailed Biodata is available upon request. A short summary of the academic part of his background (The honors are not included here) may be read at http://www.bircham.edu/english/graduados/ Academic Board

BIU lawyers have contacted Citylink magazine in the past in order to demand a correction of this references. The answer from Citylink magazine and Jim Di Paola the wirter is that the article only express an opinion. If Misplaced Pages considers that an article of opinion is a fact, then we also request that the following references about BIU are added to the definition of BIU provided by Misplaced Pages. This definitions are factual references and not mere opinions:

AADP - American Association of Drugless Practitioners http://www.aadp.net/ APICS - Accademia per la Promozione Internazionale della Cultura e della Scienza http://www.apics.com/news.htm ABED - Associação Brasileira de Educação a Distância http://www.abed.org.br/ AHEA - Adult Higher Education Alliance http://www.ahea.org/about/institutions.htm ANCED - Asociación Nacional de Centros de Enseñanza a Distancia http://www.anced.es/centros.asp BLA - The British Learning Association http://www.british-learning.com/home.htm EDUCAUSE http://www.educause.edu IACET - International Association for Continuing Education & Training http://www.iacet.org/about/providers.asp IARC - International Accreditation & Recognition Council http://www.iarcedu.com/directory.aspx INC - Instituto Nacional del Consumidor http://www.consumo-inc.es/guiacons/interior/infpract/infpract.htm

ECBE - European Council for Business Education http://www.ecbe.eu/what-is-ecbe.php?page_id=7 ICA - International Communication Association http://www.icahdq.org/

AADP - American Association of Drugless Practitioners http://www.aadp.net/ AAMA - American Alternative Medical Association http://www.joinaama.com/ AHHA - American Holistic Health Association http://ahha.org/ahhameb.asp BCMA - The British Complementary Medicine Association http://www.bcma.co.uk/bcma_Spain.htm

AHP - Association for Humanistic Psychology http://www.ahpweb.org/aboutahp/hum_edu.html ATP - Association for Transpersonal Psychology http://www.atpweb.org SIOP - Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology http://www.siop.org

IACEE - International Association for Continuing Engineering Education http://www.iacee.org/academic.htm

QUACKWATCH Lists BIU as questionable non-accredited school Misplaced Pages provides a very accurate definition of Quackwatch http://en.wikipedia.org/Quackwatch BIU presented a report with all the course contents of our Natural Health Sciences programs for their review and evaluation. It is true that there is a lot of quackery in the Health Sciences Business but it is also true that there are good professionals and schools. I just refer the related links provided above. Quoting the answer received from Stephen Barrett, M.D. should be enough to prove the partial and obsesive personal war of this person has against all Natural Health Sciences. The question then is why Misplaced Pages considers such references as valid references for the definition of an academic institution.

Stephen Barrett, M.D. Email received on 02/12/03:

“I have been to your Web site, which, by the way, is one of the most poorly functional sites I have ever seen. The fact that you have a PhD program that offers to convey expert knowledge of iridology, homeopathy, and several other pseudosciences is enough for me to conclude that you teach nonsense. Sorry, but that's how I feel.”

Stephen Barrett, M.D. Board Chairman, Quackwatch, Inc. NCAHF Vice President and Director of Internet Operations P.O. Box 1747, Allentown, PA 18105 Telephone: (610) 437-1795

Finally I want to thank you again for taking your time to get to the end of our request and kindly ask you to modify the definition of BIU as suggested. Do not hesitate to contact me at willy@bircham.edu if any additional information or dicuments are required. I have provided quick internet references to support BIU arguments but of course additional documents are available. I did not want though to overload this email with an excess of documents.

Regards

William Martin BIU Vicepresident & CEO Plaza Chueca 8, Madrid 28004, Spain (Email & Phone Number removed for privacy) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bircham (talk • contribs)

Hello,

After reading the legislation and your complaint I do not understand what you object to. The article says it not accredited and it doesn't appear that is debatable.

1. Feel free to add material to the article. Claims about academic quality should be sourced with independent material of the school itself. Note that a listing by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners does not validate anything. That group is not recognized by any government agency and has a lot of criticism for its questionable practices. Moreover, it is associated with dubious institutions like Clayton College of Natural Health.
2. According to the list IAU Universities List for Spain its not accredited.
3. The State of Oregon says its not accredited nor can it issue Spanish degrees.
4. A federal agent says this a diploma mill. Misplaced Pages is not making the claim it is quoting an expert who is. I suggest you contact the person who made the claim. As of now it is a reliable source about the school and should be included.
5. Texas says Bircham has "No degree-granting authority from Spain (AACRAO evaluation".
6. According to Maine it is not accredited nor can it issue Spanish degrees.

Thus, you have three US states saying it is not accredited, one former federal agent/education expert, and a international body confirming the article.

I suggest you contact those three states with proof of the ability to issue degrees. If they remove Bircham from their unaccredited/unacceptable lists so will wikipedia. Contact the magazine, if they amend their claims so will wikipeia.Arbustoo 07:20, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

One of your claims must be addressed. Above you wrote:

CITYLINK ARTICLE “Bircham International University was referred to by a former DipScam federal agent as a degree mill.” http://www.citylinkmagazine.com/archives/101503coverstory.html

This article deals with several diploma mills and the whole business around it. It mentions BIU once through the opinion of one former BIU student (Hullender). Michelle Moultrie Hullender was granted admission into BIU on 4/11/2003. She was assigned to do several reports on several textbooks that she never submitted. On 10/27/2003 she request to withdraw from the program. BIU sent the corresponding Refund Form according to the student rights and refund policy. Michelle Moultrie Hullender never submitted any academic work so she ca not provide an accurate opinion about BIU programs of study. The Citylink article then provides a comment about Deric Bircham without even bothering to verify if Deric Bircham credentials are good or not. Deric Bircham full and detailed Biodata is available upon request. A short summary of the academic part of his background (The honors are not included here) may be read at http://www.bircham.edu/english/graduados/ Academic Board

Hullender isn't cited in the wikipedia article and I find your release of her personal information/attendence on wikipedia to be entirely inappropriate. The relevant portion is:

“It’s pure hokum,” says Allen Ezell with a laugh, about Bircham. An undetectably forged diploma in surgery from Harvard Medical School — down to the holographic seal — hangs above Ezell’s desk in his Tampa office. But Ezell is no fraud — the diploma is a memento from his years running the FBI’s diploma-mill task force, DipScam.

Although he retired from the FBI in 1996, Ezell has watched the number of diploma mills skyrocket, thanks to spam e-mailing. The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) concluded in November 2002 that selling substandard degrees is a $200 million industry. “Sometimes, it is the piece of paper that opens the door, not the actual knowledge,” Ezell says of the diploma mills’ clientele. “Fake degrees are being used everywhere.”

If you feel the former FBI agent is incorrect about Bircham contact him. Misplaced Pages cannot change his words. On the other hand this expert should be cited in the article as he is familiar with the subject. Arbustoo 07:51, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Degree mill connection

According to John Bear, Bircham was founded in 1992 in the United Kingdom as Oxford International University. (Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 1-58008-431-1. page 206, 207) If you have an amazon.com account you can preview that book, and search its pages for "Bircham" to see the reference. According to the State of Maine "Oxford International University" is a "Degree mill. No connection to legitimate Oxford University in Great Britain." Arbustoo 08:12, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

unbalanced?

I have re-grouped the material, though not changed it--now the three US state references are together in a single paragraph.We would be glad to add one (or more) outside (3rd party) quotable statement from a published reliable source to balance the article; if you know of any, please add them to the article or to the talk page. DGG

I am trying to figure out the significance of the various Spanish standards, and if I can find a clear way of expressing them, I will put in a mention and a reference. If it is accepted for some purposes but not others, that information is probably relevant.DGG 22:43, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

If it is accredited in Spain that would generally make the degrees legal/ on par with degrees in other countries. However, there is absolutely no proof that this place is accredited. Arbustoo 23:50, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

BLP

as a previous editor stated, our concerns about use of names of living people extends to the talk pages. I have removed the name of one of the many subjects of the City Link Magazine's article, because there is inadequate basis for even saying she enrolled in this school without additional confirmation beyond a single newspaper report. She was not quoted in that article. Several other people were, but we wouldn't insert their names here either. DGG

Agreed. I thought someone would have done that earlier. Do you think Misplaced Pages:Oversight is warranted here? Xiner (talk, email) 22:49, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Balanced according to the talk page and NPOV rule of wikipedia

I took time, learnt, and tried my best to balance the article with NPOV.Pointchair 19:23, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

I removed your additions because simply saying this place is associated to several organizations is POV when those groups' affliations of public institutions are nonexistent. You must added claims with WP:RS.

For example, you said they are approved by American Association of Drugless Practitioners. This group has no status with any accreditation/educational agency. It is listed by Quackwatch as a questionable agency. Please only add WP:RS in explaining the educational validity of a school.

The government sources and UNESCO list are WP:RS, and they say this is not a legal operation. Arbustoo 18:05, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Also since various government agencies say this is not operating legally we must becareful in using Bircham's website to source claims made. Arbustoo 18:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Changed reference link

I have changed the text and link to the State of Maine to reflect that its evaluation of BIU is the same as that of Texas. The reference to Oxford International University is no longer pertinent, as the name changed seven years ago. -- Donald Albury 17:23, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

It was directly called a "degree mill" by a governmental institution so I think that's fairly pertinent about a claimed "university." Arbustoo 19:15, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

EQAC (Educational Quality Accrediting Commission)

Quoted as accreditation body by Irish International University, uses a website www.accreditation.info which is registered by Bircham University. 194.201.98.210 11:00, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Libel/Motivation

It's outrageous Misplaced Pages allows itself to be abused by crackpots with such painfully obvious chips on their shoulders. Entries such as the one for "Bircham International University" should be deleted if they serve no purpose except to satisfy some warped vendetta on the part of these...what would you call them...vigilantes? What is the motivation of people like this, what do they hope to accomplish? They're up to something...maybe what they need is therapy, but perhaps a day in court would be better. Just because it's on Misplaced Pages doesn't mean it's not libel. If I were an administrator for Bircham, your disturbed writers and your entire operation would be sued. Misplaced Pages's credibility as a source of objective information, if it ever had any, is nullified by the pointless attacks of such "nutjob bloggers" straying beyond the usual boundaries of their bile-spewing. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 61.251.8.147 (talk • contribs) 07:59 (UTC), 1 August 2007. — 61.251.8.147 (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

From OTRS

This from BIU via OTRS. Requested changes:

1. John Bear Reference. We contacted Mr Bear. He is retired an sick and he is not publishing any more editions of the guide you refer to, so there will be no more publications that will correct the incorrect statements about Oxford University. Also he will not recognized publicly that he was wrong because he likes too much the position of non traditional education guru. The Oregon Office of Education http://web.archive.org/web/20061215064711/http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/u deleted all reference to Oxford, diploma mills or any negative comments after a review of documents and explanations provided by BIU. We are still listed as an unaccredited institution because we are, and the only remark is an "F" which means foreign institution. This is perfectly neutral, verifiable and truth. This neutral approach is what we expect from Misplaced Pages. According to your email to Bisila Bokoko, the fact that the ODE has changed their quote about BIU should be considered a suitable independent source which supports this proposed change.

2. Legal Status: The Chamber of Commerce may not publish in their web a reference about any company. They have verified directly to to you that the statements defended by BIU about its legitimacy and status are correct. Here we provide a series of links that will reference and verify our statement, so you can write the statement in full instead of omitting an important part like the current quote posted by Misplaced Pages. The references provided are absolutely verifiable.

Include the following statement:

BIU is a provider of non-formal education and as such no further authorization from a Ministry of Education is required. BIU activity is authorized by its registration under secion 932.2 http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Fiscal/rdleg1175-1990.t1.html#c9 (Spain Non Formal Higher Education). The Spain Ministry of Consumer Affairs monitors BIU activity (Decreto 84/2004 de 13 de Mayo (Enseñanza General)) http://gestiona.madrid.org/wleg/servlet/Servidor?opcion=VerHtml&nmnorma=255 During the year 2005, the Spain National Institute of Consumer Affairs (Instituto Nacional de Consumo - INC) from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs awarded BIU with the official distinction of consumer protection http://consumo-inc.es/arbitraje/interior/adhesion/adhesion.htm This seal provides a solid international consumer protection and a unique guarantee to all BIU students in Spain, Europe and worldwide. http://www.bircham.edu/INC.pdf

3. Other references. I inform you that the reference provided by Citylink Maganize or Schholhouse (Allen Ezzel) has been deleted. We see that the reference to Quackwatch that was taken out from the definition was included back. Stephen Barret is not a verifiable reference according to our criteria because he is an activist against anything related to Natural Health Sciences. BIU offers majors in this field and this is the reason why we are included there. Natural Health Sciences are perfectly legitimate. We request that other references are also included such:

BIU is an authorized provider of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) http://en.wikipedia.org/Continuing_education_unit according to the International Associtaion of Coninuing Education & Training (Washington DC, USA) http://www.iacet.org/about/providers.asp BIU is member of the IARC - International Accreditation & Recognition Council (Australia) http://www.iarcedu.com/directory.aspx and ANCED - Asociación Nacional de Centros de Enseñanza a Distancia (Spain) http://www.anced.es/centros.asp These references have conducted through reviews of BIU institutional procedures and quality standards. Neither John Bear, Allex Ezzel or Stephen Barret have conducted any fact-checking research or examined any documents or procedures about BIU at all.

Please review. Guy (Help!) 16:15, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Not sure how helpful this will be, but ah well. From my experience with the periodic whitewashing of the Columbia Pacific University article I know that the Oregon Office of Education has undergone some unclear changes in operating procedure after settling a lawsuit by Kennedy Western University. I believe they removed from their website specific references to any unaccredited school being a diploma mill. One of their employees popped in to talk with us about it here, but unfortunately did not follow up. User:Orlady is a good editor in this area, perhaps she can give better assistance than I can. Cheers, Skinwalker 18:29, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization website is revised often. Old versions of the site content are available via archive.org, and could be cited as historical information, such as "In 2003 the state of Oregon Office of Degree Authorization reported on its website that Yogi Bear University appeared to operate out of a picnic basket at Jellystone Park." One informative version of the website that I found is http://web.archive.org/web/20060627232714/http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/index_OR.html --Orlady 04:10, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Regarding item 1, I believe that John Bear's publications are now being continued by his daughter, Maria, so they are still current. Like Skinwalker, I believe that Oregon stopped labelling specific schools "diploma mills" after settlement of a lawsuit by Kennedy Western. Thus, the fact that their website does not currently call the school a diploma mill does not indicate anything about Oregon's opinion. As recently June 2004, Oregon did classify Bircham as a "diploma mill" (see ), defined as "An unaccredited school that meets any one of the following conditions. (a) Issues degrees without requiring any student academic work. (b) Issues degrees based solely on the student's life experience or portfolio without requiring any college-level work submitted to and evaluated by faculty with appropriate academic degrees from standard institutions. (c) Issues degrees using more than 50 percent of required credits based on the student's life experience or portfolio." I think this could be cited as an historical fact.

Regarding item 2, other than its own website, the web references cited by Bircham do not mention "Bircham" and are in the Spanish language (so I have not attempted to determine whether they contain some relevant info on some other webpage). However, I note that the credentials described appear to be of a type that are not necessarily meaningful in the context of evaluating an educational institution. (In every country there are many worthwhile certifications, such as business licenses, bank references, certificates of good sanitation in all kitchens and bathrooms, ISO 9001 accreditation, and the Good Housekeeping seal of approval, that do not indicate anything about the legitimacy or quality of an educational institution.)

Regarding item 3, the first paragraph of it consists of innuendo regarding the credibility of several people; I don't think we can address that. The first URL listed -- http://www.iacet.org/about/providers.asp -- does list Bircham as an "authorized provider" of continuing education in Madrid, Spain. According to the website, "Organizations that meet IACET's internationally recognized continuing education and training standards are approved as Authorized Providers. Authorized Providers may award IACET Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Organizations transition to an Authorized Provider only after successful completion of an application and site visit." The BIU article could mention the Madrid location and this Continuing Education authorization. However, note that this is not educational accreditation and does not authorize issuance of academic degrees. As for the IARC - International Accreditation & Recognition Council (Australia) http://www.iarcedu.com/directory.aspx , that organization appears on List of unrecognized accreditation associations of higher learning and brief perusal of http://www.iarcedu.com/standards.aspx leads me to suspect that it is an accreditation mill. The URL http://www.anced.es/centros.asp says the site has been hacked, so I cannot comment on its relevance or usefulness.

--Orlady 18:12, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Dear Mr. Guy Chapman,

According to your past emails and referring to Misplaced Pages policy, any statements should be supported by verifiable references. Changes in the references do affect the veracity of the statement. We have been working in such modifications following the instructions from your past emails and according to Misplaced Pages policy. Misplaced Pages plays an important role in the reputation of our institution and the way things are explained in the article do make a big difference. I am sure that you are aware of this, so this is part of your responsibility. We are trying to establish the difference with other institutions that can be considered questionable and that may apparently share a similar profile.

The sources that have changed or deleted the reference supporting a statement posted must be considered. This is not any type of interpretation from our side as you claim. The changes have occurred and do not support any longer the content posted, even if they did in the past. If the sources changed why does not Misplaced Pages accept the change?

1. Oregon Office of Education http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html deleted all reference to Oxford, diploma mills or any comments after a review of documents and explanations provided by BIU. We are still listed as an unaccredited institution because we are, and the only remark posted is an “F” which means foreign institution.

2. The source reference provided by Schholhouse (Allen Ezzel) has been deleted. It should be also deleted as well from BIU definition at Misplaced Pages http://southflorida.metromix.com/archives/101503coverstory.html

3. The inclusion of other references such the BIU CEUs Authorized Provider status granted by IACET is a reference that is not subject to interpretation. This is a fact and a review process has been passed to achieve such status.

BIU is an authorized provider of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) http://en.wikipedia.org/Continuing_education_unit according to the International Association of Continuing Education & Training (Washington DC, USA) http://www.iacet.org/about/providers.asp. BIU is also member of the IARC - International Accreditation & Recognition Council (Australia) http://www.iarcedu.com/directory.aspx and ANCED - Asociación Nacional de Centros de Enseñanza a Distancia (Spain) http://www.anced.es/centros.asp

The clarification of the legitimacy status of BIU degrees and academic programs which is permanently misunderstood by the English Community should be better explained if reliable references are provided. This concepts and the documentas have been verified to you directly by the director of the US-Spain Chamber of Commerce. The references are not subject to any interpretation as well. They come from official administration sources in Spain. The nature of BIU must be clearly explained in both the way that you interpret it as a traditional educational activist but also in the way it is considered from the legal point of view in Spain and the European Union. Refer to the following links and documents.

BIU is a provider of non-formal education and as such no further authorization from a Ministry of Education is required. BIU activity is authorized by its registration under secion 932.2 http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Fiscal/rdleg1175-1990.t1.html#c9 (Spain Non Formal Higher Education). The Spain Ministry of Consumer Affairs monitors BIU activity (Decreto 84/2004 de 13 de Mayo (Enseñanza General)) http://gestiona.madrid.org/wleg/servlet/Servidor?opcion=VerHtml&nmnorma=2558&cdestado=P

It is also important to pinpoint that there is an active monitoring from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. This is not just a BBB pay for seal. It is a compromise signed with the Spain National Institute of Consumer Affairs that provides important guarantees to the consumer. This is somehow what you are trying to do with the tone of the article about BIU and the way the “facts” are exposed.

During the year 2005, the Spain National Institute of Consumer Affairs (Instituto Nacional de Consumo - INC) from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs awarded BIU with the official distinction of consumer protection http://consumo-inc.es/arbitraje/interior/adhesion/adhesion.htm This seal provides a solid international consumer protection and a unique guarantee to all BIU students in Spain, Europe and worldwide. http://www.bircham.edu/INC.pdf

I want to defend our right to get the proposed changes included in the definition of BIU. Such changes are not the result of any interpretation but the consequence of effective modifications and facts that affect the current content of the article and that may provide more precise definition of our controversial institution.

An additional note from the comments read at BIU discussion:

1- If you verify the Oregon Office of Education http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html you will notice that not all references to Diploma Mills have been deleted. In fact there are many comments. Oregon reconsidered the classification of BIU as a diploma mill after a review of many documents and supporting info. Refer to Mr. Alan Contreras.

2- Going through the IACET provider status does not authorize to grant degrees. Who ever said this? But this status at least proves some academic quality and a through site visit and inspection from a traditional point of view.

3- We appreciate the information about the new John Bear publication. According to Mr. Bear past email there were not going to be any more, but if this is so, we will be glad to start the corresponding lawsuit. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.0.26.23 (talk • contribs)